Conveyer



o. SHACKELFORD 2,074,595

CONVEYER Filed Aug. 25, 1935 2 sheets-sheet 1 March- 23, 1.93 7.

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Or/'e Shag/(afford March I23, 1937.

o. sHAcKELFoRD 2,074,595

' 'coNvEYER y i Filed Aug. 25, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR v Or/'e Shame/ford Patented Mar. 23, 1937 UNITED STATES ma,... .M

PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

My invention relates to conveyers of the belt type for transferring material such as glassware, etc., from one point to another, or through annealing lehrs.

In conveyers of this type, there is frequent slippage as between the belt-driving pulleys or drums and the belt, with the result that there is excessive wear on the belt-driving drums, and also irregular or jerky movements of the belt. l In order to reduce such objectionable slippage to a minimum, the drums have heretofore been faced with rubber or other frictional facing material, and the belts have been kept excessively taut, with the result that there is considerable loss of power and excessive wear and strain both on the belt and on the pulleys and drums.

' One object of my invention is to provide beltdriving drums or pulleys of such form that the belt can be somewhat slack, and danger of slippage nevertheless practically eliminated.

Another object of my invention is to provide belt-driving drums of such form that there is in effect geared relationship between the drum and the belt, particularly if belts of the wire mesh type be employed.

Some of the forms which my invention may take are shown in the accompanying drawings wherein Figure 1 is a plan view of a conveyer structure Fig. 2 is a side view thereof, partially in section; Fig. 3 is a View taken on the line III- III of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a sectional View, on an enlarged scale, of one of the belt-driving drums of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of said drum, and Fig. 6 shows a modification of the structure of Fig. 2.

Referring first to Figs. l to 5, I show a conveyer or transfer apparatus that is mounted on pedestals 6 that are of cylindrical form, and into which jack screw members 1 extend. Adjusting nuts 8 are rotatably supported on the upper ends of the pedestals 6, and have threaded engagement with the screws 1, so that the nuts can be turned to raise and lower the ends of the conveyer. An inverted channel iron |0 serves as a run-way for the upper run of the belt. Angles are welded to the channel I8, and to the upper ends of the screws 1, and serve as means for supporting the channel III upon the screws. The members 6, 1, I0 and thereby constitute a conveyer frame which is adjustable at its ends to desired heights.

At the loading end` of the conveyer a guide roller I2 is journalled in the angles Il, for vertically supporting and guiding the conveyer belt I3 at that point. At this end of the conveyer, a

guide roller |4 is mounted on a shaft |5 which is journalled in plate extensions I6 thatiare welded to the flanges of the channel I0. At the discharge end of the conveyer, a guide roller I1 is similarly rotatably supported in extension plates I8 that are welded or otherwise secured to the channel l0. The belt, as shown, is ofthe jointed wire fabric type, such as those made after the manner of ordinary chain link mesh,`

with the strand of the mesh running crosswise thereof, and having jointed interlocking connection with one another, so that the belt will iiex readily without actual bending of the individual strands.

The upperflight or run of the belt slides along pulley 26, and thence over the roller I2. The' rollers or pulleys 22, 23, 24 and 26 are journalled in side plates 28 that are welded or bolted to the flanges of the channel Ill. Tie bars or spacer bars 29 extend through the plates 28, for the purpose of holding them in rigid relative relationship.

The roller 25 is journalled in bearing blocks 30 that are supported upon and have screwthreaded engagement with adjusting screws 3|.

The ends of the screws 3| are rotatably supported in angle brackets 32 which are secured to the side plates 28. Each screw is provided with a sprocket wheel around which a sprocket chain 33 passes, so that when one of the screws 3| is adjusted by turning its hand wheel 34, the other* screw will be correspondingly turned in order to effect tensioning adjustment of the roller 25.

The drums 22 and 23 are driven from a motor 36 that is mounted on a plate 31 that is slidably supported upon a bracket 38 which is supported:At

from the angles 2|. An adjusting screw 39 is journalled o'n the bracket 38 and has threaded engagement with the slide plate 31, so that the motor can be adjusted to Vary the tension of a belt 4| which is driven by a pulley 42 which has" slip-clutch connection with the motor shaft.-

The belt 4| passes around a driving pulley 43 that is mounted on a shaft 44 that carries at its opposite end a pinion 45. The pinion I meshes with and drives a gear wheel 46 that is mounted on a shaft 41 that carries the drum 22. 'I'he shaft 41 carries a gear wheel 48 that meshes with and drives a gear wheel 49 that is mounted on a shaft 50 which carries the drum 23, so that the drums 22 and 23 are driven at the same rates of speed. The drums 22 and 23 are of polygonal form, and here shown as hexagonal, it being understood that they can have a greater or lesser` number of sides than shown. The drums can suitably be made of flat plates welded` together at their edges, and having web platesbll welded therein and serving as hubs.

As shown more clearly in Figs. 4 and 5, there 'is in effect a hinge joint between each helical relation, and of course, turn in opposite directions. -.The belt contacts with four flat surfaces vof each drum, and four corners of each drum are constantly in `driving engagement with the belt, as shown more clearly in Fig. 4. It will be .understood that a somewhat similar positive driving action would be secured with belts of other` form than the mesh type, since in that case the corners of the drum faces will exert a pulling force instead of depending upon apurely frictional pull as in the case of c ircularly-shaped drums.

Referring now to Fig. 6, show one end of a conveyer which may in its other particulars be of substantially the form shown in Figs. 1

to 3. This belt is provided with additional drivingdrums so that it is more suitable for use in conveying heavy loads, through glassware annealing lehrs for example. The lehr belts are usuallyof considerable width and great length,

and are required in many cases to move a load of perhaps two tons of glassware through a lehr. Fig. 6 shows the discharge end of the conveyer wherein the belt passes around a pulley Ila, and

around drums 63, 64, 65 and 66 successively, the drums being arranged in pairs somewhat after the manner of the drums 22 and 23, so that each drum will always have four of its faces in contact with the lehr belt. In this case, the drums are shown as of solid form `instead of hollow, and are suitably journalled in supporting frames 61. Sprocket wheels are mounted on shaft-like extensions at an end of each drum, and a sprocket chain 69 passes around said sprocket wheels, as shown, in order to effect rotation of the drums in directions to drive the belt in the directions indicated by the arrows. Thechain 69 is driven from a sprocket wheel 'l0 thatris mounted on a shaft ll, the shaft 'H being driven therefore exerted.

As shown in Figs. 2 .and 6, the adjacent polygonally faced pulleys are so arranged that when an angular surface on one pulley is passing out of engagement with the belt, an angular surface -or corner on the adjacent pulley is entering into engagement .with the belt. This relative arrangement of the pulleys is of advantage because positions.

/I claim as my invention:-

l. The combination with an endless conveyer belt and guide members therefor, of a pair of polygonally faced driving pulleys mounted in approximately side-by-side relation, but with their axes relatively offset vertically a distance not substantially greater than the radius of one of the pulleys, the belt extending from an upper plane downwardly around the higher pulley and thence upwardly between the pulleys and downwardly around the lower pulley, each angle on the face of one pulley passing out of engagement with the belt as an angle on the face of the other pulley engages the belt.

`2. The combination with an endless conveyer belt and guide members therefor, of a pair of polygonally faced pulleys, one of which is a driving pulley, mounted in approximately side-byside relation, but with their axes relatively offset vertically a distance not substantially greater than the radius of one of the pulleys, the belt extendingr from `an upper plane downwardly around the higher pulley and thence upwardly between the pulleys and downwardly around the lower pulley, each angle on the face ofA one pulley passing out of engagement with the belt as an angle on the face of the other pulley engages the belt.

3. The combination with an endless conveyer belt and guide members therefor, of a pair of polygonally -faced driving pulleys in approximately side-by-side relation, but with their axes .of one pulley passing out of engagement with the belt as an angle on the face of the other pulley engagesthe belt, the pulleys being'geared together and cf approximately equal dimensions.

4. The combination with an endless conveyer belt and guide members therefor, of a pair of polygonally faced pulleys, one of which is a driving pulley, mounted in approximately side-byside relation, but with their axes relatively offset vertically adistance not substantially greater than the radius of one of the pulleys, the belt extending from an upper-l plane downwardly around the higher pulley and thence upwardly between the pulleys and downwardly around the lower pulley, each angle on the face of one pulley passing out of engagement with the belt as an angle on the face of the other pulley engages the belt, the belt being composed of elements which are hingedly connected on axes extending transversely of the belt, and the Widths of the pulley faces, in tangential directions, being multiples of the spacing between said -belt joints. ORIE SHACKELFORD.-

.15 relatively offset vertically a distance not sub- 

